Qidi Q2C: Linear Rails and 1.5GT Belts for Under $400
While most manufacturers were busy shouting about their holiday sales, Qidi Tech quietly slipped a new machine under the tree. The Qidi Q2C is officially out, stripping out some of the Q2’s features for a lower price tag.
We can be guilty of missing the odd quiet printer release from time to time, and the Qidi Q2C is one such printer and occasion. Quietly announced in November, the printer appears to be a pared-down version of the Q2, targeting the “first printer” demographic with a sub-$400 ($399) price tag. Despite the budget positioning, Qidi hasn’t quite stripped the machine of its technical chops. It retains its speedy motion system driven by 1.5GT belts (high precision) and a linear rail on the X-axis, claiming max printhead speeds of 600 mm/s and acceleration up to 20,000 mm/s².
The build volume sits at a respectable 270 x 270 x 256 mm, which offers a slightly larger footprint than the typical 256 x 256 mm cubes that dominate the space. Like the Q2, Qidi has equipped the Q2C with a bimetal nozzle capable of reaching 370 °C, keeping the door open to hotter engineering-grade materials like PA and PC right out of the box, although taming them may be more of a challenge.
The crucial differences between Q2C and Q2 are in the chamber environment and airflow, with the Q2C ditching the Q2’s chamber heater, 3-in-1 HEPA air filter, and camera. The filter and are now optional, available separately. The enclosure materials take a minor hit, too, switching glass windows for all-plastic panels.
It’s also compatible with the Qidi’s Qidi Box multi filament feeder, which enables up to four-color printing, expandable to 16 when chaining four devices, and features filament drying while you print. It’s available standalone for $228 (presale, currently) but can be bundled with the Q2C as the Q2C Combo for $549, saving you $68.
Beyond its higher-temperature performance for a budget enclosed printer, Qidi has had the printer listed by MET Laboratories, an OSHA-recognized Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL). The NRTL listing indicates compliance with applicable U.S. safety standards, with an emphasis on overall electrical and operational safety. Both the Q2 and Q2C are listed together, suggesting that any safety claims related to particulate filtration likely apply only to the Q2C when equipped with the optional air filter.
$399 for the Q2C is an aggressive price point, brought into sharper focus with options like the Elegoo Centauri Carbon at $299, and Bambu Lab’s price-dropped P1S at $399 both ahead with some QoL features as standard, but falling slightly short in performance overhead. It’s a capable-looking machine for the price, even if Qidi was a little too humble to tell many people it actually exists.
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